Fed News Friday: Where does Herman Cain Stand on Auditing the Federal Reserve

One interesting fact about GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain that few in the media seem to consider news or interview-question-worthy is his time as Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Of course the media don’t draw much attention to Cain’s time as a Federal Reserve chairman because they don’t draw much attention to the Federal Reserve, nor monetary policy. While that has changed a little over the last three years, the amount and depth of news coverage and commentary on monetary policy issues is severely disproportionate and small compared to the scope and influence of monetary policy on our lives.

Herman Cain’s stint at arguably the most powerful banking institution in the world should merit closer examination, especially as America’s economy falters and people search for answers, desperately trying to understand what went wrong and how to fix it. 9-9-9 is just a fiscal policy. Herman Cain says nary a word about monetary policy, which is interesting if not very odd, given the fact that he has the credentials and experience to say something of value, contribute to the national conversation about the finance industry, and distinguish himself from the other candidates in the GOP’s crowded field. What does Cain think about monetary policy? Unfortunately, he only ventures to touch upon the subject when he’s asked or challenged about it, and he never seems too happy about it when he is.

Where does Herman Cain stand on auditing the Federal Reserve? In one of the many GOP debates this year, Cain criticized Ron Paul’s supporters for accusing him of opposing a Fed audit. Cain claimed this was just not true. In fact, Herman Cain has said several times, that he does not think an audit would be productive. He’s called it unnecessary; he’s said that there is already plenty of transparency at the Fed; he’s invited audience members during Q&As to call up the Fed and ask them anything they’d like; he’s defended the Fed as a very efficient government organization; he’s pretty much said everything about the Fed except concede that it needs to be audited more… this despite everything we learned from the partial Dodd-Frank audit this year. On the matter of a Fed audit, we can all certainly expect a Cain Administration not to make one a priority, nor even pursue one.

This is why PolitiFact Georgia has rated Herman Cain’s position on the matter of auditing the Federal Reserve “a half-flip.” PolitiFact says:

In one video posted by DraftCain2012, the candidate wanted to change the subject with folks who wanted to talk about auditing the Federal Reserve. One man told Cain they can’t audit the Federal Reserve.

“We can audit them,” Cain replied.

Cain told the crowd that they should focus on setting up a meeting with Federal Reserve officials and ask questions about what control measures the bank has in place. He called the Federal Reserve “one of the tightest-run federal entities I have ever seen.”

Cain is asked specifically in that January meeting if he would ask for an audit of the Federal Reserve if elected president.

“But first we need to find out the audits that are already going on,” Cain said, raising his arms in exasperation. “What I’m saying is this request for an audit, I’m not sure if that’s the answer to any problem other than people think that they don’t want to be audited.”

In another YouTube clip, which is on other sites, there is audio of Cain from a guest appearance on “The Neal Boortz Show” discussing all of the audits already in place with the Federal Reserve.

“We don’t need to waste money … with another audit that’s unnecessary,” Cain said.

…

In general, Cain has said an audit is counterproductive, but he will not object to it. That is largely consistent with his statement at the debate. However, there have been occasions where Cain has been confusing on the topic, like when he appeared to take a more definitive stance, saying on Boortz’s show that “we don’t need to waste money” with an audit. Because of that confusion, we rate his position on auditing the Federal Reserve as a Half Flip.’

And do remember, we are talking about a man who can starkly contradict himself within the span of one minute during the same interview.

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